I've been Penn-Centralized!

[Flashwave]

This picture popped up on "newest" when I veiwed RP. This is what your going for Dave, right?

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=231210&nseq=29

I hope you next try at weathering the PC boxcar will work out this time. can't wait to see pictures.

Uh, where's the nosedoor? Please tell me they just left it open, but I think I can see what looks like an unused hinge...

[SpaceMouse]

Maybe it's a sign Dave...

That was my FIRST thought!

Naw, just means I need to work on my technique.  I have a couple of old Atlas and MP boxcars(foobie cars in foobie schemes I have no intention of running) who are about to donate their bodies to art!

By coincidence, I answered this to Lee on the other thread.

AS for the PRR Indiana Branch....I went to my local NMRA meet t day, and I swear the universe is conspiring against me. I met the local PRR resident historian and I ran into a guy who took pictures of the area and are used as a primary source for a two volume book on the Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Rochester (which was bought up by the B & O) anyway, he has photos of the building I was missing source data on.   

I also came home with 4 pieces of HO rolling stock for the PRR including a Funaro and Camerlengo PRR covered hopper in my period and a Bowser N5 caboose that I won as a door prize. I took it as a sign that I need to work around my perceived limitation and put off tearing it down for a while.

I also won a Rix N-scale 150' overpass, but I'll be danged if I can find a figure a place for it on the N-scale office layout.

By the way. I answered your post as well. There's a picture there I want you to see.

 

[al-in-chgo]

I can understand a Penn Central boxcar looking like a distressed green; probably exx-New York Central.  But more of a mint green than the strong green in the model boxcar. 

But in the photo, the real boxcar looks blue! 

Did either NYC or Penna experiment with powder blue??? 

Or perhaps the color is not quite true on the slide or photo????

al

 

[wctransfer]

Did we really have to bring the real problems into this arguement? Course' Penn Central was a poor operation, but one heckuva cool one! Crappy power, crappy everthing! But, to me, thats just plain cool, and I would definately model the PC (early Conrail I suppose) if given the room or money to. I cant really believe people actually arguing about what Dave should or should not do. Go with it Dave, all crappy railroads were neat, just look at the Rock Island in its last few years. Whats not to like about junk power?

Alec

[SteamFreak]

"When Good Pennsy Modelers Go Bad: The Dave Vollmer Story."

 

In all seriousness, modelling the faded glory of a railroad in decline is an interesting challenge. I can't wait to see Dave go grunge.

[mopac57]

Dave,

I'm in the same boat you are. For a while now, I've been modeling my beloved Missouri Pacific circa 1957, long before I was born (in 1971). I guess I had a "railfan romance" with the MoPac's early diesel paint scheme, and a deep interest in the history, politics, movies, and automobiles of the late 1950s.

But something funny happened. I started to become sappy and nostalgic for the Missouri Pacific of my youth--that is, late 1970s/early 1980s. I found myself reminiscing about the Jenks blue GP38-2s, B23-7s, and U30Cs. My first cab ride was in MoPac GP38-2 #2242 (an ex-RI unit), and I'll never forget it. (That's something else to think about--if we find it interesting to model run down railroads, how about the Rock Island? Probably rivals the PC for poor track and equipment.)

So I've switched eras--I now model 1982, but still have a lot of 1957-era equipment laying around. I'm finding it too darn difficult to part with the Alco PA's.

For me, the change was fueled by nostalgia. Plus, having a kid and wanting to show her what railroading was like in MY youth was compelling (she'll grow up in a completely different world when it comes to railroading.) But something else pushed me forward, too. It happened at a train show a couple years ago when I saw some kid (OK, maybe he was 19, not a kid) point to a U23B on a diorama and say, "Those old locomotives look cool." OLD?! They don't seem that old to me, but hey, I'm not 19 either. So I really began to play with the idea of modeling stuff as I remember it, which seemed a whole lot more exciting than tracking down photos and information to help me model the world before I even existed. Utilizing my own memory and direct observation pretty much trumped the idea of scavenging for a limited number of photos to figure out how to accurately pull off 1957. I could do '82--and probably do it better--than '57.

I think this is what happens when you get older. You point to the layout and say, "Back in my day, those old U Boats smoked and chugged like nothin' else. And I walked to school in the winter. Through twenty feet of snow. Barefoot. Uphill. Both ways."

 

  

[aloco]

For the record I was born in 1974.

I had my first taste of railfanning and then got my first train set in 1974.  I was about 12-13 years old at the time.  I added to the set by buying a few more pieces of track, a couple switches, a couple more locos, and some more freight cars.  I can remember buying a PC 40' box car back then.  I really liked the PC turquoise green.

About 30 years later I acquired a few PC freight cars and I decided to get a few PC locos too.  I got a pair of Life-Like Alco S-1s, a pair of Stewart Baldwin DS-4-4-1000s, and a pair of Atlas RSD-4s. I model the year 1974 in HO scale, so PC fits into the scheme of things. 

[tgindy]

I remember the wealth of new "RR Logos" rumbling daily through the middle of town on the elevated 4-track mainline after the 1968 merger.

So, there are (4) neat reasons to consider the Penn Central...

[1]  Penn Central

[2]  Pennsylvania

[3]  New York Central

[4]  New Haven 

There are dozens of other reasons, too...

http://www.geocities.com/pcrrusa//pcsubsrr.html

[Dave Vollmer]

Yes, but I plan to take it a step further...

1980 Conrail.

Then you have all 6 bankrupts plus predecessors...

In fact, I've seen photographs of PRR cars in original PRR paint with roofwalks in service as late as 1986!

I plan to model one, actually.  The Atlas N scale Trainman 50' double-door boxcar comes painted in the PRR's last scheme and can be modified to appear as a PRR X56B in service in the Conrail era.  Replace the thick plastic running board with an etched brass one, make the roof look like galvanized metal, and then weather the car.  Add an ACI bar code, wheel inspection dits, consolidated lube plates, and some re-stenciled data and boom!  A quick, inexpensive legacy car.

[emdgp92]

Dave, don't worry about the anti-PC folks. Even though I don't really remember PC (I was born in '76, along with Conrail) there were still plenty of black diesels running around Pittsburgh into the 1980s. I remember them, and the Montour coal trains (not far from my house...close enough I could hear them at night). As such, I model the PC, with a little Montour and P&LE thrown in. I got started with PC, mainly because I liked parts of the NYC, but also parts of the PRR.

If you *really* want to have fun, do one of the ex-Rio Grande F units PC bought. Former PRR E units with worms also drive people nuts LOL 

Welcome to the dark side, and enjoy the modeling. Oh, and if you need decals, the Penn Central RR Historical Society can help you out :)

[AntonioFP45]

Quote: emdgp92

If you *really* want to have fun, do one of the ex-Rio Grande F units PC bought. Former PRR E units with worms also drive people nuts LOL 

http://pc.smellycat.com/pics/equip/pc754_712_1648dr.jpg

http://pc.smellycat.com/pics/equip/pc721dr.jpg

 

[tgindy]

Yes, but I plan to take it a step further...

1980 Conrail.

Then you have all 6 bankrupts plus predecessors...

Yikes!

Even more reasons for modeling this era!